signingbooks Chapter 191 Reciprocity
Chapter 191 Reciprocity
Chapter 191 Reciprocity
As the Gregorian calendar ticked past the end of May, the summer heat began to spread across the North American continent.
Since the beginning of June, American media coverage has almost never strayed from Ernst.
First, Google, one of the most prominent companies in the internet industry, announced a major strategic adjustment, stating that it would be split up and integrated.
This news caused a huge stir in the capital market, signifying a complete restructuring of the internal organizational structure, business processes, and resource allocation.
This is a matter of life and death for any company. History has shown that many companies have suffered internal chaos and even lost their market competitiveness due to such a complete restructuring.
However, the outside world views Google positively, as its adjustments appear to be a sign of a more formalized company.
Before the news of the split and integration had been fully digested, Google announced its plan to select a new CEO.
As a giant company with a market value of tens of billions of dollars, the selection of the CEO is directly related to the company's future strategic direction, development pace and market confidence, and therefore attracts much attention.
The subsequent relocation of Google's headquarters, followed by an unprecedented hiring spree, dominated headlines in numerous media outlets.
Just as Google's series of adjustments were not yet fully completed, Leap Games, hailed as another rising gaming giant in America, officially launched its financing plan.
Because of the explosive popularity of Counter-Strike, which has accumulated a large number of users and market reputation, coupled with the endorsement of the name Ernst, YueDong Games has long been a hot commodity in the eyes of investors.
Therefore, as soon as the news of the financing was released, it immediately attracted the attention of many top investment institutions, and investment giants extended olive branches, hoping to participate in the financing process of YueDong Games.
The valuation tug-of-war between investment institutions and YueDong Games has certainly attracted a lot of attention, and it seems that the outside world had long anticipated Ernst's company's high net worth.
While the financing of YueDong Games is still stalled, another major news has shaken the internet industry: Netscape has secretly met with AOL, and the two parties plan to merge.
Just one day later, Netscape and AOL simultaneously released official statements confirming their strong interest in the merger and that they had reached a consensus on the core principles of the merger, with the next step being negotiations on specific details.
That afternoon, Netscape made another major announcement, stating that it would officially abandon the use of Google's search engine and instead increase its investment in the research and development of its own search engine.
This decision is undoubtedly a major blow to Google's search engine business.
Netscape Navigator is one of the two dominant browsers in North America and still has a considerable number of users. Netscape's abandonment of Google search engine means that Google will lose half of its user entry point.
However, the crisis facing Google is far from over. Just one day after Netscape announced that it would abandon Google's search engine, Microsoft dropped another bombshell on Google, announcing that its Internet Explorer browser would also completely abandon Google's search engine and instead adopt Microsoft's own new generation search engine, which will be officially launched in the next version update of Internet Explorer.
In its statement, Microsoft also boasted that its self-developed next-generation search engine is in no way inferior to Google's search engine in terms of technology, search speed, and result accuracy, and even surpasses it in some functions.
Microsoft's decision was like adding insult to injury, plunging Google into an unprecedented crisis.
The simultaneous abandonment of Google's search engine by both Internet Explorer and Netscape means that Google will lose 8% of its user access points, and its search engine business faces the risk of being disrupted.
Microsoft's claim that its new search engine is no worse than Google's has been met with almost unanimous skepticism.
Most industry analysts and users believe that Google's search engine technology and optimization have created an insurmountable advantage in terms of algorithms, data processing capabilities, and user experience. It is highly unlikely that Microsoft can develop a search engine that can compete with it in a short period of time.
Several authoritative media outlets even openly mocked Microsoft founder Bill Gates in their reports.
One report stated, "If Internet Explorer's self-developed search engine were truly as excellent as Microsoft claims, given Bill Gates' personality, he would probably have already decided to crush Google, and wouldn't have waited until now to make the decision. The claim that it's no worse than Google is nothing but self-deceptive propaganda."
However, Microsoft did not respond to the doubts and ridicule from the outside world, only saying to stay tuned.
Microsoft's passive approach has only fueled speculation, with many believing that the company lacks confidence and is hesitant to directly address the criticisms.
Google, having suddenly lost two major users, has naturally become a focus of media attention.
Some analysts believe that Google's search engine market share may drop below 7%, instantly transforming Google from a star company into a precarious and endangered enterprise.
If Google cannot find a solution soon, many people believe that its fate is bankruptcy or acquisition.
The following day, May 17th.
Just as everyone was still worried about Google's future development, another bombshell dropped in the internet industry: Microsoft will acquire Hotmail for $1.5 million.
The moment the news broke, all the senior executives gathered in a conference room at Google headquarters, but the atmosphere wasn't exactly anxious.
Hamilton James, the professional manager who had only been in office as Google CEO for a few days, was now reporting the news to the executives present with a furrowed brow and a somber expression.
"News just broke this morning that Microsoft will acquire 100% of Hotmail for $1.5 million."
It's clear that they want to attack Google's business from all angles, from search engines to email services; they've begun a full-scale assault on our core businesses.
Hamilton James's words were filled with helplessness and pressure. He had just taken office when Google suffered a series of setbacks, including being abandoned by the two major browsers, a sharp drop in market share, and now facing a crisis in its email business being challenged by competitors. This was obviously a significant blow to him.
It's not a blow to their morale; to reach such a position, none of these top professional managers lack mental fortitude.
The blow mainly came from outside. How would Google employees view him? Would they think his arrival brought bad luck to Google? There was a lot of discussion and all sorts of opinions from the outside world.
"What did Apple say? What was Steve Jobs' reaction after hearing the news?" Ernst remained calm, even a smile playing on his lips, showing concern for his old friend.
Sergey Brin paused for a moment, then glanced at Hamilton James, whose expression was grave, before turning to Ernst and replying with a hint of sarcasm, "I heard Steve Jobs found out this morning that Microsoft acquired Hotmail."
Upon hearing the news, he immediately smashed a flowerpot in the office, becoming extremely agitated.
Sergei Brin's words eased the atmosphere in the conference room somewhat, and several executives couldn't help but chuckle quietly.
Apple's headquarters are also in Silicon Valley, not far from Mountain View. Employees of the two companies often interact, so it's understandable that the news spread quickly.
Sergey Brin paused, then added, "Just now, Yahoo News published an interview with an Apple executive. In the interview, the Apple executive clearly stated that he hopes Hotmail founders Jack Smith and Shabalbatia will carefully consider their decision and not make choices that are detrimental to industry competition and their own development."
At this point, Sergey Brin shrugged, his tone tinged with helplessness, "But as you know, Apple is struggling to survive itself right now, so all it can do is make some empty promises and issue some meaningless statements."
Everyone knows that Apple and Microsoft have been bitter rivals for many years. From the era of personal computers to the era of the Internet, the two companies have engaged in fierce competition in many fields, and their grudges have been brewing for a long time.
Hotmail's two founders, Jack Smith and Shabal Bhatia, were both former Apple employees. They accumulated a wealth of technical experience and industry resources during their time at Apple before leaving to found Hotmail.
Now, the two are actually going to sell Hotmail, which they founded, to Apple's arch-rival Microsoft. To everyone, this is no different from capitalization and is undoubtedly a slap in the face to Apple.
Importantly, Hotmail received strong support from Apple during its early development stages.
Several core members of Hotmail's R&D team are Apple employees. Apple not only approved these employees to participate in Hotmail's R&D work, but also provided technical support to the R&D team.
If Apple hadn't provided this support at the time, the development of Hotmail would never have progressed so smoothly.
Now, Jack Smith and Shabal Bhatia have turned around and sold the company to Apple's arch-rival, which is seen by anyone as a blatant betrayal.
Ernst's smile gradually faded, replaced by a cold laugh, his tone laced with sarcasm and indifference: "Human nature simply cannot withstand the test of money. So-called 'not betraying' is merely a matter of not having enough incentive to betray."
Jack Smith and Shabal Bhatia chose to sell Hotmail to Microsoft simply because Microsoft's $1.5 million offer exceeded their expectations and was irresistible. Faced with such enormous profits, sentimentality and gratitude became utterly worthless.
He gently beckoned to his secretary behind him, who immediately understood, stood up, bowed, and waited respectfully for his instructions.
"After the meeting, go and order two large potted plants for me and deliver them to Jobs' office. Remember to choose good quality ones, and include a note saying you heard your office is lacking greenery, so you're getting some for me."
The executives present couldn't help but laugh when they heard Ernst's instruction.
Everyone understands that Ernst's act of sending the potted plant to Jobs at this time was ostensibly out of concern for his old friend, but in reality, it was a subtle way of mocking Jobs' earlier lapse in composure, while also carrying a divisive meaning, making Jobs resent Bill Gates and Microsoft even more.
The secretary quickly nodded and made a note of it, then quietly returned to her seat.
After the joke, Ernst's expression instantly turned serious, and he said in a heavy but powerful tone, "Since Microsoft has taken the initiative to invade our territory and launched a full-scale attack on our search engine and email business, wouldn't it be a shame if we didn't give Microsoft some trouble?"
"Microsoft wants to cripple us by acquiring Hotmail and abandoning our search engine, so we must take corresponding countermeasures to let our Bill know that Google is not so easy to mess with."
Ernst's words invigorated the executives present.
They weren't too worried about Google's search engine and email business; Google had already made thorough preparations.
Regarding search engines, Google's self-developed browser has been under testing and is ready to be launched to the market at any time.
Executives firmly believe that with the browser's superior performance and the advantages of its search engine technology, it will attract a large number of users once it is launched on the market, and the current market decline is only temporary.
Users aren't stupid; how could they not notice the difference? They won't believe Microsoft just because they hear a few words.
Of course, market share will definitely be affected, but it will definitely not reach the point of life or death that is being rumored.
Google Mail, on the other hand, is even less afraid of competition. Despite Hotmail being the only email service on the market that is free and open to the public like Google Mail and allows login from different locations, it still faces competition.
However, for consumers using email, functionality is key. Whether it's an individual or a business, it's impossible for one person to register multiple email accounts. As long as Google captures the business market, the email market will belong to Google, and no one can shake its market position.
The ability to transfer large amounts of text and support collaborative editing among multiple users is enough for Microsoft to study for a while after acquiring Hotmail. How to bypass Google's patents is a big problem, and one wonders if Bill Gates will be worried sick.
"What are your thoughts?" Hamilton James looked up at Ernst and asked expectantly.
He was also very curious about the boss's thoughts, given his ability to turn lead into gold.
"Office software, huh?" Ernst had already planned his counterattack.
"Office 97 is indeed Microsoft's trump card, and its auxiliary effect on office work is self-evident. But we are not without technology, so why can't we develop our own office software? Don't forget that we have the technology for multi-person collaborative editing, which is a killer feature."
Everyone's eyes lit up.
Yes, the core of office software is to assist in office work, and at a deeper level, it is to improve convenience and efficiency.
Is there any technology that can improve office efficiency more than collaborative editing technology?
"I think it's a good idea. Microsoft has run out of tricks; it's time to let them experience the feeling of tension," Sergei Brin was the first to agree.
Despite his current high position, this young man hasn't completely shed his immaturity. He still displays the same youthful cynicism towards Microsoft and Bill Gates, just like any other ambitious American tech geek.
"However, should this project be developed by the existing subsidiary, or should a separate project business group be established?"
"I think it's fine to hand it over to Gmail," Hamilton offered his opinion. "Is it necessary to set up a separate subsidiary for a single office software? Isn't that a waste of resources?"
Ernst pondered for a moment; in fact, he was thinking about more than just office software—he had a much bigger plan.
However, for now, it is indeed the most appropriate thing to hand it over to Gmail for development.
"Then let's submit it to Gmail first."